Another Walters Roommate Tied to Agent

The NCAA and USC investigations into Shawn Walters’ connection with sports agent Robert Troy Caron strengthened when officials learned that a second Walters’ roommate worked for Caron, The Times has learned.

Corey Tucker, who lived with Walters and Melvin Nunnery, told officials that he works as a recruiter for Caron, the Oxnard agent who is being sued by the university, officials said.

Walters, a junior running back, has allegedly accepted $15,900 from Caron in airline tickets, pocket money and other expenses since last year, according to a copy of a ledger obtained by The Times. Entries for more than $500 to Tucker appear on Walters’ ledger. The money is alleged to be salary payments from Caron to Tucker for taking care of Walters, officials said.

Nunnery, who is said to be in the entertainment promotion business, had previously been linked to Caron. He has told officials he does not work for Caron, but the ledger also lists a payment to Nunnery, as well as expenses for Walters funneled through Nunnery.

Walters has told officials he did receive some money and benefits, but thought they were from Nunnery or Tucker. He has denied receiving money from Caron. He has also denied knowing that Nunnery or Tucker worked for Caron. Both Nunnery and Walters, however, have been seen at Caron’s offices in Oxnard.

Caron, who is also a personal injury attorney, has denied paying players.

Tucker, a quarterback, finished his career at Texas El Paso after the 1994 season. Reached at his residence Sunday, where Walters used to live, Tucker declined comment. Nunnery could not be reached.

Walters, who moved out recently, could not be reached, but his mother, Joyce Jones, denied that her son took money from Caron. “Shawn never received any money,” Jones said from Pine Bluff, Ark. “The newspaper is saying some rude things about him.”

Nunnery and Tucker both played on the Moorpark College football team. They were teammates with wide receiver Curtis Marsh, now on the practice squad with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Marsh told The Times last week that he accepted money and phone cards from Caron before his college eligibility expired at the University of Utah, where he played the 1993 and ’94 seasons.

It is against NCAA rules for a college athlete to accept cash or other favors from an agent. For Walters to play again, USC has to request that the NCAA restore his eligibility, and Walters has to pay back the benefits he received. But officials say Walters’ collegiate career could be in peril because of the large amount of money involved.

Additionally, the NCAA is under a directive to take a tougher stance on cases involving agents.